Another insightful devotional from our friend Kyle
What do YOU believe? (Give me 10 minutes of your time and I will tell you – smile)
“The computer system is going to crash when the year 2,000 comes”
(What did you believe about Y2K?)
05 / 11 / 13
(Comments in parentheses and emphasis within Scriptures are mine.)
THIS WEEK’S THOUGHTS:
Believing is an action word! Just like when our Father says to “Keep the Sabbath day Holy”. We Gentiles generally think of the words “believe” or “keep” as passive, or merely mental assertions. In the Hebrew language, though, they are action words. To “Keep” the Sabbath day Holy actually means: to set aside as holy, to protect and to guard as holy. In the same respect, the word believe is an action word! EVERYONE believes SOMETHING about God, and that belief will cause them to act, react, speak, reason, and think in response to that belief.
A couple of weeks ago, we studied about what Yeshua (Jesus) said about how we are to believe in the Father. Some of those verses were:
“And Yeshua (Jesus) cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.’” (John 12:44)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24)
This verse should make people stop and think because many people cling to “Jesus”, yet want little to do with the Father. “But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.” (John 15:21) When we separate the Father and the Son, we will develop ideas and doctrines which will cause persecution of those truly dedicated to the Father (while living by faith in His Salvation – His Son).
It is clear that we are to believe in YHVH (The Father who loved us so much that HE saved us by sending His Son, Yeshua (Whose Name means “YHVH saves”)). What do you believe about Him … the giver of the gift?
LET US STUDY “BELIEVE” FOR A MOMENT:
I was always taught that Romans 11:20 meant that the Jews did not believe, but we Gentiles are saved by faith:
“Quite right, they were broken off for their unbeliefG570, but you stand by your faithG4102. Do not be conceited, but fear;”
Let us look at both “Unbelief” (# G570) and “Faith” (# G4102) and we will find that:
Unbelief = Faithlessness = disobedience
Belief = faithful = obedient
We can clearly see that these are action words! If you TRULY believe in YHVH (and what HE did to save us), then you would be faithful to obey Him!
The opposite is true … if you do not obey His eternal Laws, then you are unfaithful and are showing that you do not truly believe.
UNBELIEF (# G570)
Faithlessness, that is, (negatively) disbelief, disobedience: - unbelief.
FAITH (# G4102)
Synonym (other words that mean the same): observance, keeping; godliness; reverence of God;
Antonym (words that mean the opposite): disobedience; violation; unbelief, faithlessness; ungodliness, departure from the truth;
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BETTER TRANSLATION OF ROMANS 11:20?
“Those in the desert were broken off because they did not obey (proving that they truly did not believe in God), but you are obeying (which proves that you do believe and have His Spirit). Do not be conceited and become boastful, but be fearful” – KHV (Kyle Humphrey Version – smile – I did not change the original words, but simply did what ALL our Bibles do, translated the Greek to English)
I have often said, “Give me 10 minutes with anybody, and I can tell what/who they love. The same is true with what people believe. If someone says that they believe in God, yet do not obey Him, their actions prove that either they are babes in the Lord, or their words of acclamation are false. For example, if someone has been calling themselves a believer for years and years , and is still living a life of disregard for the Father’s Laws as given to Moses, well…
“The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;” (1 John 2:4)
“They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” (Titus 1:16)
These people are saying, “I believe in God!”, yet they are proving that they do not actually believe because they are disobeying Him (Like they did in the desert!). This makes Matthew 7:21 and 23 come to life:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter … 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”'
LET US LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES:
- I am planning on pouring cement one afternoon on a job. I turn on the weather report and they are calling for rain early that afternoon. Do I believe them, or don’t I? I check the radar myself and examine the facts. I find that I do not believe the report, but feel that it will rain later tonight. So, I pour the cement. I acted upon my belief! I “know” the weatherman and have trusted in him in the past, but occasionally I do NOT believe in him.
- Many today are examining their faith in the government and its ability to fix the economy and take care of us. What do you believe? If you believe in the government’s claims, then you will most likely be spending your money as in years past … if you do not have “faith” in the government, then your actions will probably be different.
- What do you believe about the educational system? Do you believe that the schools have anti-Christ agendas; that drugs / sex / and language are out of control in the schools; Do you believe that our children know nothing when they are born and we parents are going to be held responsible for what they learn and absorb (That God is going to hold the parents accountable)? If this is your belief, then your actions would most likely be to pull your children out of this system and either put them in a Christian school or homeschool them. If you believe that the schools are not that bad, or that you can correct the damage done at school when they get home, or that God really won’t hold you responsible for what they are exposed to at school, then your actions will most likely be to leave them in the public school system. You see, whatever we believe will affect the way we act.
Okay … now with the topic of concern: What do you believe about God?
- I believe that there will be many “Christians” in the end being sent away because they did not truly believe what God said about His Laws being eternal. I preach repentance to those I love. Do you believe God when He says that to eat unclean meat is detestable to Him? … Do you believe God when He said that He desires obedient children? … Do you believe God when His Son says to obey His Father’s teachings?
- I believe that neither Paul, nor anyone else, not even the Messiah, has changed the Father’s Laws. He even says in Matthew 5:18 … “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Oh, look over there, I still see the heavens and the earth!) I understand that if Paul changed the Laws, then he would have been a false prophet … I understand that if someone comes preaching that he is the Messiah, yet does not obey the Laws of YHVH and teaches others to do the same, then he is NOT the Messiah. How do I react to this belief? I am practicing obedience to the Laws as YHVH has laid them out, all the while trusting in HIS Salvation. (Then I find that this is what my Savior taught, as well: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” (Matthew 23:23)
We will all stand before YHVH and give an account for what we did in this life - “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12) Will this account that we give be based on our belief that ‘Jesus did away with those old laws’? OR will our account be based on our belief that our faith led us to obey as best as we could all of His eternal laws (just like His Son did), yet trust in His Salvation?
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